If your dream has always been to work abroad, you may have to align yourself with an American company to land it. Getting a job overseas is no easy task, thanks to  visa restrictions in most places worldwide.

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Many countries have rules that discourage employers from hiring outside the country, so while there are still job opportunities for Americans overseas, most are positions with companies that are based in the United States.

“The overseas jobs that are available to Americans are typically with American-based firms,” said Jean-Marc Hachey, international career editor for Transitions Abroad magazine and author of The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas. 

“These American-based firms are use to getting visas; it’s part of their regular operations. They do work all over the world and when they find an internationally mobile professional, they’ll move that person from country to country.”

According to Hachey the old model of the American family living abroad affluently for a year or two is disappearing. Advancements in communications technology have made it easier to work on international projects remotely, and Hachey thinks decreasing travel costs have helped to curb the need for American employees to stay overseas for extended periods of time. 

“The type of international work that people are doing is that they’re increasingly going abroad for short stints,” he said. “They’ll work three months abroad in Russia, come back for six weeks of vacation and then head back and live in a hotel. Those are the more prevalent models of the international employee.”

But that doesn’t mean working and living overseas is impossible. 

Janet Pech is the head of content operations for a shopping Web site based in Sydney, Australia. She got her first international job in 2003, when she moved from New York to begin working for a firm in the Philippines.

“I think the reason I found the job in the Philippines is because it’s considered a less desirable location for expatriates,” Pech said. “It was really a fluke--typically it is very, very difficult for Americans to quickly find work overseas.”

She then moved to Australia to pursue her MBA at a university in Brisbon, Australia. Halfway through her program, she was hired by her current employer who offered her an open-ended contract for a position in Sydney. Pech said she thinks a big reason she got the job in Australia is because she was already living there and willing to stay.

“The perception is that Americans won't stay for very long if they accept a position overseas--and there's probably some truth to that," Pech said. "A lot of people want to stay only for a couple of years and they don't know what to say when they're asked if they want to make a five-year commitment."

Monster.com research manager Hugo Sellert agreed it is more difficult to get a job abroad with a local employer, and that it can usually only be done if you’re already living in that country.

“Your chances of finding international work are always better once you’ve already started working abroad and you’ve had time to study the language, start networking and learn about the culture,” Sellert said.

Hachey agrees getting to the country where you would like to work is important. He said that one way to spend some time in another country is to teach English since teaching visas are much easier to come by. The experience can be used to network within the country and as a stepping stone for a different career. Still, finding work with a company in the United States and then applying for a transfer abroad is a much easier way to go. According to Sellert, there are several careers in high demand overseas.

“There’s a need for engineers in and around Germany since the manufacturing sector is booming and there are not enough workers; if you’re in consulting, the UK is still a very good market,” Sellert said. “In Asia there’s still a lot of opportunity in finance; hospitality is very strong in France and there’s a huge need for immigration lawyers everywhere."

Sellert also suggests building your international skills and improving your ability to work with several people of different cultures and backgrounds as one way to increase your chances of moving abroad with an American firm.

Bechtel, the San Francisco international engineering firm, frequently takes on design-build projects overseas, many of which require their employees to spend years abroad as they see phases of a particular project through. A spokesman for the company said that one of the things they look for when assigning overseas projects to employees is experience in transitioning across cultures and working with international people and governments.

Before accepting a position abroad, you should carefully research the cost of living in the city to which you’ll be moving.

"If you do have a contract where you’re paid in U.S. dollars, be sure you’re aware of what the purchasing power is in the country you’re going to,” Sellert said. “It’s changed a lot over the last few years and people who were sent abroad with U.S. dollars are regretting it now."

If the local currency is stronger than the dollar, as is often the case in Europe, it might pay to negotiate for a portion of your salary to be paid in that local currency, but Hachey said the dollar is still a strong currency overall.

"The American dollar still buys a tremendous number of services abroad and few countries are more expensive than the U.S.,” Hachey said. “In most countries American’s purchasing power is certainly equal to what you can buy in the states, with the few exceptions of a couple of major cities."

Researching the country's policy on things like health care and social security is also important. You should understand your benefits package before you accept any job overseas, and Pech. She said that if you're going to work for a company that's based abroad, you should research that company and try to talk to other Americans who have accepted jobs abroad with the organization.

"In many places you are only entitled to live in a country as long as you work for that particular employer because of the visa restrictions in place, so you’re totally at the mercy of your employer,” Pech said. “If things do go wrong, you don’t have the safety net of being able to search for another position down the road and you’re often restricted from taking on work with another company in that location, so be sure you know what you’re getting into."